A Minute on the Lips Read online

  “And I got here just as Edna dropped her bombshell.”

  Andi thought back and tried to remember how incriminating the evidence might have been at that point. The remnants of her rage made her snap, “I did not need your help. There was no call to defend me, Mark Taylor. I am perfectly capable of telling Edna just exactly what I think.” And the words still burned on her tongue. Maybe if she could remember the rage brought on by having her past thrown in her face, she could fight the temptation to soak up hearsay like a sponge. It would be good for her, just as soon as she got her blood pressure under control again.

  He held up both hands. “Believe me, I get it. I wasn’t protecting you. You looked ready to murder. Still do, and it might even be justifiable homicide. I was protecting her. And maybe the decor. Bloodstains are hard to get out, I hear.” He didn’t smile, but the corner of his mouth quirked and his eyes were...warm. Understanding.

  And no matter what he said, he’d probably saved her from herself.

  She gave a silent sigh. It might have been audible, however. His eyes took on a wicked glint as he added, “I was sorry to have missed all the fun at first. When I walked past the window, you were under a dryer with enough foil on your head to protect you from an alien probe.”

  Andi wanted to kick his chair. He brought out her hard-to-find violent tendencies, so she wanted to kick something. She didn’t. In fact, she realized where she was just in time. The whole salon was silent, no doubt listening to their exchange carefully, the better to dissect it after they left and spread mostly true bits like rice at a wedding.

  Andi cleared her throat. “Okay, then. I guess we’re on a completely unrelated yet coincidental schedule.”

  “I think I’m beginning to see what you mean by the difference between facts and truth, the importance of context. Such a deep thinker. Edna’s probably still trying to figure out what happened.” He reached out to take her hand and she froze. Andi could almost hear the chortles of glee sounding in the brains of every woman in the room. He smiled. “Your hair looks really nice, Andi.” And then imaginary jackpots went off. No one said a thing, but Andi could feel the weight of their stares. She knew he could see the distress on her face. Astronauts on the International Space Station could see the distress on her face. But she couldn’t move. He finally squeezed her hand and let go. “How about dinner later?” He glanced around at the other women.

  And here it was. He was the most diabolically clever man in the world. Andi was surrounded. She couldn’t retreat gracefully. And she’d gotten nowhere on finding out who stole from Jackie’s diner. Mona and Jackie were probably worried sick, and it was her job to solve this theft quickly. Maybe Mark Taylor didn’t completely understand her, but he was trying and that was...refreshing. She’d wanted to annihilate Edna on her own, but she’d really like to have some help with Jackie’s case. She couldn’t for the life of her figure out how to say yes. Plus, the longer she stood there, staring into his warm eyes, the harder it was to breathe. If she didn’t answer—and quickly—the whole town would forget about Jimmy and Maylene to talk about the ambulance rushing over to the Hair Port to resuscitate the sheriff.

  Finally Andi managed to clear her throat of the obstruction blocking both air flow and words. “Can I have a rain check, M-Mark?” She hated that stutter. But it had to be done. “I’d like to do some work on Jackie’s case tonight. Everybody’s going to expect some progress soon.”

  He leaned back in the chair and studied her for a minute, happy surprise on his face, and he finally nodded. “All right. How about Saturday, then?”

  That gave her time to figure out what in the world she wanted to do about Mark Taylor, so she agreed. Maybe she could stumble on a suspect and solve the whole thing before that. Then she could spend her Saturday night like she usually did: in front of the television, knitting. Please save me from this rut. “That sounds great.”

  Andi avoided everyone’s eyes as she backed away toward the cash register. She could feel them all watching her, but only one of them mattered. She handed Lynn her check, told her to make another appointment in exactly two months, and made her escape.

  * * *

  WHEN THE SHERIFF passed in front of the window, Mark started a silent countdown. And in three, two...

  The place erupted in chatter and Lynn raced over to pat him on the back. “You dog! After the sheriff! I love it!”

  As Sue unsnapped the cape, he reached up to give his hair a ruffle. He’d had it trimmed a week ago. “Thanks for playing along, Sue.”

  The petite brunette snorted. “You didn’t give me much of a choice, Mark. You were in my chair with the cape on before I heard the bells over the door. I didn’t even know you could move that fast.”

  He shrugged. “Sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

  He slid out of the chair and inspected his hair carefully in the mirror. “Y’all don’t know anything of interest about the break-in, do you?”

  Lynn wagged her finger at him. “You don’t think we’d tell you instead of the sheriff, do you?”

  In a slow drawl, Mark said, “Well, now, you might.” He winked at Lynn and laughed when she rolled her eyes.

  “You can’t charm me, Mark Taylor.”

  He raised an eyebrow at her.

  Lynn said, “I mean, we could exchange information, maybe.”

  “I don’t have anything to exchange, Lynn. Maybe you ought to tell me what you know.”

  She pursed her lips. “Well, now, I’m not sure about that.” She waved her hand airily as she walked over to pick up the broom and start sweeping up the less-than-heavenly floor. “Seems you might know about your upcoming date. And how long you and the sheriff have been seeing each other. And maybe what your plans are, even.”

  Mark laughed. “I might. But if I told you, the sheriff would kill me. Dead. I’d be dead and you’d all be sorry. Is that what you want?”

  She swept up small piles of Andi’s curls and sighed. “I guess not. She might get into trouble and I really like Andi.”

  He nodded. “You know, one good way to help her is to give me any info you might have to solve this case. If she doesn’t get it taken care of quickly, Ray Evans is going to have a pretty strong platform for reelection.”

  Lynn and Sue traded speaking looks before Sue hesitantly said, “Well, now, I don’t want to get anybody in trouble, Mark. I didn’t see enough to tell you who broke into Jackie’s. And I would have told the sheriff but I...got distracted by the show.” She shrugged. “Never mind. I’ll just head on over to her office to talk to her instead.”

  Mark pulled out his wallet and said, “You could do that...or I could tell her for you. I need all the help I can get with the sheriff, ladies.”

  Sue sighed. “Well, I closed up that night. I had a perm run long, and I was the only one left in the shop. When I drove home, there was a pickup truck parked on the curb, but no one was in it. I didn’t think to get a license or anything. I didn’t think I was witnessing a crime, you know?”

  Mark put down enough to cover his impromptu trim. “Sure. Can you guess on color or what kind of truck? Was it old or new?”

  Sue shook her head. “I think it was dark, maybe black. And it was an older model, but I can’t for the life of me figure out who drives it. I’ve been watching the street but nothing seems to fit.”

  “Well, there’s probably one pickup truck for every person in this town so it’s a pretty big selection.” He smiled. “But thanks for telling me. I’ll pass it along to the sheriff. Maybe that will help narrow things down.”

  “You be a gentleman with my friend, Mark Taylor,” Lynn said. “She deserves a nice guy. I’m not sure you are one, but I know for certain you can help her shake things up. Those bangs were only the start, I bet.”

  Mark waved and opened the door. “Thank you, ladies, for all your help.�
�

  As he stepped back out on the sidewalk and looked in through the window, Mark could see all the ladies huddled together, no doubt cussing and discussing everything that had happened that morning. The Hair Port did a nice business. They were talented stylists, sure. But the real attraction came from skillful investigation and reporting techniques. Maybe he ought to put them on the payroll.

  He rubbed his chin and stared down toward the sheriff’s office.

  Even though he’d lectured himself about leaving her alone since she’d driven away the night before, when he’d seen her standing up to the town gossip and looking so, so pretty and good and just...noble, he’d had to go for it. And he’d caught her at a weak moment, so now they had a working date. She hadn’t been able to say that, but he’d read the qualification in her eyes.

  He couldn’t ignore the crazy flutter that was either excitement or fear or both at the idea. When he realized he already missed her and wanted to run down to see her with this new excuse, he had to ignore a shiver of dread. She could be bad news of the forever kind. He couldn’t remember missing someone five minutes after they’d walked out. So he decided to wait and pretend he wasn’t headed for lovesick at a high rate of speed. This information could help Andi. And the honest fact was he couldn’t depend on having the bargaining power for long. Lynn, Sue and the other Hair Port ladies would dole it out as they saw fit, and then it would spread through town in a wave. He’d lose his advantage. He needed that.

  With her, he needed every advantage he could get. He could see the desire to bolt in her eyes. She had been half a second from turning down his request in the beauty shop. If he left her alone too long, she’d talk herself out of having dinner with him.

  Mark shook his head. He ought to have it examined. She was rigid, prickly and desperate to be anywhere but here. The dating pool was pretty shallow in Tall Pines, but she wasn’t the only pretty girl in town. Why was he ready to sign on to her particular brand of frustration? It didn’t help that she was so cute when she got mad. Or that she was mad all the time. Or that he admired her strength and smarts. He wanted her cooperation, just to make his job easier, but maybe he also wanted to take her out, get to know her, shake her up. Now he had a nice reason to surprise her when she least expected it. He’d gamble and hold on to it for a little longer.

  CHAPTER SIX

  ANDI MANAGED TO walk briskly down the sidewalk in front of the Hair Port without looking in the window to see either Mark Taylor or the banked uproar that would no doubt erupt as the bells jingled on Mark’s exit. She made it back to the station, where Lori greeted her with a grim smile. “Sheriff, Tammy’s in your office.”

  Andi nodded and skirted her desk and the crowded room behind it. When she opened the door to her office and saw Tammy’s Post-it-noted strategic plan leaning against her desk in full neon glory, she wanted to close the door quietly and tiptoe back out to the sidewalk.

  Tammy’s hoot stopped Andi dead in her tracks. “Woo, girl, look at that new hairdo!” She clapped her hands and danced around Andi to get the full effect. Andi had known Tammy since first grade. She was about six inches shorter than Andi, athletically perfect with straight fine blond hair, and looked as if she’d never been in a bad mood. She had. She just never looked it.

  Andi walked around her desk to collapse in her chair, which promptly let out a loud screech. In this instance, it was a comforting sound. It matched Andi’s mood perfectly.

  Tammy perched on the edge of her own seat and said, “You oughta get that looked at.”

  “My hair or my chair?”

  Tammy laughed. “I meant the chair. The hair’s pretty fabulous. If you were wearing anything other than that uniform, I’d think you’d come from one of those makeover shows.”

  Andi nodded. “Right. So, Mrs. Campaign Manager, what have you come up with?”

  Tammy waved a hand dismissively at the poster she’d clearly spent some time on and said, “We’ll get to that. Let’s talk about the hair some more. I want details. And how soon can we get a new campaign photo taken?” She pulled out her phone and said, “You know what...you and I both know it’ll never look this way again. I’m going to call Peter and see if he has time to come over and shoot you right now.”

  Andi nodded. Some days she felt as if she’d pay someone to shoot her...literally. Yesterday had been one of those days. Today was starting to look the same. Peter was Tammy’s husband. He worked at the bank, but his hobby was photography.

  “Hey, baby, Andi’s gone and gotten herself a really nice hairdo. Can you come over and take some photos at lunchtime?”

  The answer must have been yes because Tammy’s previously perfectly happy face lit up and she said, “Love you, baby.” When Tammy smiled and nodded at her, Andi did her best to smother the jealous twinge that kicked in whenever Tammy and Peter were together.

  Tammy dropped her phone back in her purse and said, “He’ll be here in fifteen minutes. Now, dish.”

  Andi shook her head. “Don’t you think a bit of makeup would be a good thing if I’m about to have my picture taken?”

  She held out her hand. “Pass me your bag and we’ll see what we can do. And then you better talk.”

  Andi pulled out the small bag she kept in a drawer for campaign emergencies. She never spent much time worrying about anything more than mascara on most days. Plain sheriffs seemed a whole lot easier to support than glamorous ones.

  Tammy walked around the desk and sat on the edge of it as she dug around in the bag. She pulled out powder and blush and quickly applied those before she started working on Andi’s eyes. “I want to know everything. What brought on the bangs?”

  Andi closed her eyes. “Maybe I’m getting tired of the way things are, doing the same thing day in and day out. Maybe I’m thinking about making some changes.”

  Tammy hummed. “That doesn’t sound like you. What prompted this adventure?”

  Andi smiled. Then she braced herself. “I think that would be Mark Taylor’s fault. Unless you count Jackie’s robbery as the real beginning, Mark is the source.”

  Tammy paused and Andi blinked her eyes open. She closed them again when Tammy headed back toward her with a small brush. “We ran into each other at dinner last night and he said some things.... I finally told him what I thought about his news reporting, he apologized and offered his help with the case. Today I couldn’t figure out how to say no to his dinner invitation so I said yes, and now I think we have a working date on Saturday.”

  Andi expected to be blinded by brilliant rays of sunshine from Tammy’s huge smile. Instead, Tammy bit her lip. She worked carefully with the mascara then leaned back. “Andi, that’s great. He’s seriously cute.”

  “That wasn’t quite the reaction I expected. Aren’t you the same girl who signed me up for an internet dating service?”

  Tammy sighed. “If I thought this was going to be an actual date, I’d be dancing on the desk. The fact that you can take anything and turn it into work worries me—you know that.”

  “I have to prove myself. As my campaign manager, you ought to understand that. Besides, it’s dinner. Out. At night. That’s a date, right?” Andi told herself it didn’t matter what Tammy thought. But it did.

  Tammy shook her head, worry clear in the tiny frown on her forehead.

  A knock rattled the window in Andi’s office door and Tammy opened it to let Peter into the tiny room. “Girl, there’s more to life than work, even in Tall Pines.”

  Peter raised an eyebrow as he kissed his wife but he didn’t ask. He had a lot of experience walking into the middle of their conversations.

  “Hey, Peter, thanks so much for taking the time to seize this chance.” Andi picked up the single lipstick out of the bag and carefully applied it. When she looked up, Tammy and Peter were communicating with their eyes. Andi couldn’t hear a single word, but she
knew she was the subject of the conversation. Again. And she heaved a quiet sigh.

  Tammy worried about her. To her, the keys to happiness were a strong marriage and lots of time for her family. She just didn’t understand Andi’s need to prove herself. Why should she? She’d never been the town’s favorite subject of discussion, she ran one of the most popular businesses in town and she had a husband who’d love her until the end of time. Tammy didn’t need to prove anything to anyone.

  “All right. Where do you want to do this?” Andi asked.

  Tammy looked around the office and went to open the blinds for more light. “Let’s try for one shot in here then head outside to get one by the sign and maybe one or two with your car if the heat doesn’t kill us.”

  Peter saluted and started giving direction. Andi did her best to follow all of his instructions, but something about having a picture taken made her more uncoordinated than normal. She lost count of how many times Peter had to say, “No, your other left.”

  After roughly one thousand photos, Tammy was satisfied, and Peter was on his way back to work. They’d escaped the heat as quickly as they could. Andi and Tammy were reviewing her “strategy board” in the nice, cool office. Andi wanted to make air quotes every time Tammy mentioned the strategy board, but she would not have appreciated that. As she was Andi’s one and only full-time campaign worker, Andi needed to keep her happy.

  “I’m not sure a debate’s a good idea, Tammy. Besides, how would we get people to turn out?”

  Andi desperately wanted a big, tall glass of sweet tea. Her caffeine levels were running dangerously low after a morning in the beauty shop and the unplanned photo shoot. She carefully sneaked a look at her watch. Jackie’s lunch crowd would be long gone by now. Andi would have to put up with his questions, but she could also get a nice, cool drink and something for lunch. And she would happily buy Tammy’s lunch. If she’d only let Andi get the invitation out.